Training [Solo]

Now was the time, the time for an ultimate decision. As Odd awoke in the forest she looked around and saw nothing... nobody... Not a single soul. She didn't sense anything, but as she looked around she saw Karakura. The ultimate decision, To go to Naruki City... Or turn back. Closing her eyes she sighed softly, then she heard it.

What're you sitting around for? "Huh?" You're not seriously about to go to them are you? Yeah sure they can help us... But just think, if we saved her by ourselves... Imagine how greatful Scarlet will be. We'd get all of her attention. "I know you..." Yes, yes you do, and now you've experienced my full strength. "What do you mean?" The Hollow. The Menos Grande that you crushed into oblivion. You liked that right? "Well... Now that you mention it..." That's right. Because that's who you are, We're apart of each other. Together, nothing can beat us. Divided we are strong, but together... Together we are unbeatable. So, what's it going to be? Ask for help... Or do it yourself?

It took her a few moments as she thought about the question, she knew who that was... It was her, or rather, the thing that claimed to be her powers. She wasn't entirely sure that what it said was true, that she had experienced her full strength. But what she did know for a fact, was that whatever she had experienced was powerful and she wanted to control it. As she looked down at her hands for a moment, she had a sudden realization. She looked towards Karakura Town.

"Yeah... I could go ask for their help. But they can't teach me to master this. They can help, but they can't make it so. Only I can."

She said to herself, but first... she knew, that if she was to stay there, she needed food... and lots of it. It took her awhile, but while she hoped she had gone unnoticed she made several small trips into Naruki City. She took enough food for what she hoped would last her entire training. She knew Gabriel probably sensed her at the very least, but she hoped beyond hope that he didn't try to approach her, stop her, or tell Ellis she had been there, and hoped Gabriel knew she didn't want to be known.

After she'd grabbed enough food, and something to store it in, she made her way towards those Mountains... Those beautiful Mountains. And that, would be where her abilities would reach their peak.

It took Odd several days to get to those mountains, during this time she spent a good portion of it simply talking to herself really. She had to learn more about herself if she truly wished to learn more about her powers and truly Master them. Among those conversations... Was one that held more weight and made her think harder than any other.

You realize he's evil... and that we must kill him right?

Her inner voice simply blurted out seemingly randomly.

"...Yeah..." You don't want too? "...Not really..." I can understand that... But he isn't our real Father. And you should know, by now, who I am... "...Yeah..."

Aevi said, tugging the coat closer and closed.

Do you know why? "Why?" Why that's your focus. "No... Why?" Because I was given to you by our Mother. Deep down, that holds more value to you than anything he could ever give you. "My... Mother?" Yes... That's the only thing he ever spoke that wasn't a lie. She died giving birth to us, but her one wish was that it be given to us if she were to die during child birth... And so it was. "I... see..."

Aevi went silent, thinking at this thought. Thinking of it, her coat was the only thing she ever willingly kept so close to herself. She never let anyone else touch it but she never knew why, she never understood why she cherished it so much. But now, it all made sense. She understood why she cherished it so much and it made her smile, holding the coat even tighter as she continued her walk towards the Mountains. A renewed vigour so to speak. And, for the first time in her life, she didn't feel her powers while alone. Her body didn't ache or creak with pain, her powers finally stopping their continual onslaught for dominance over her. Was it because of her realization of who He was? Well, she didn't care. For the first time she could focus, and she began to notice something... rather odd. Those mountains, she seemed to be getting closer to them a lot faster than she'd been previously. That's when she noticed it, she was moving at a faster pace than she thought possible. What was she doing? She wasn't entirely sure. Whatever it was, she couldn't figure out why or how she was doing it... but she wasn't complaining.

Over the course of the day or so it took her to reach the mountains, she encountered only a very small few of those hollow-things. She had expected more of them to appear, this type of area was where she had always been sent to destroy them before. Although, none of them were anything like that Menos Grande she had fought. But, when she finally got to the Mountains... She felt something inside her, he'd finally gotten within range... He'd tracked her down. She felt a powerful shock surge through her body, causing her to let out a screech of pain as her hand went over the eyepatch quickly and she fell to the ground in pain. She heard his voice, commanding her to come back... But as her screams went ignored, she gritted her teeth as her screams of pain turned to screams of rage. The immediate area around her beginning to tremble as her eye opened slowly and she growled softly, she could feel the shock increasing in intensity but... she didn't care. She was tired of being controlled, she was free... She had a true family now, one that really cared for her. She had Scarlet depending on her, She had to get stronger and remain free if she was to save Scarlet. Aevi slowly forced herself to her feet.

Play Me

"No..."

"You won't control me..."

"You won't control US"

"Not anymore..."

She said, balling her hands into fists. Her white Reiatsu spewing forth, the chip that was implanted inside of her starting to go into an 'emergency' mode wherein it essentially tried to kill her. Through both pain and anger, she ignored this... That wasn't too say it wasn't trying it's hardest but as her Reiatsu spiked and flared forth, her one eye glowing a bright white color. Sparks from both her Reiatsu and from the chip surged through her, the eyepatch that hid the hole in her head was torn to shreds.

"Get... Lost... You Monster!"

She screamed out, the chip simply... shattering. The immediate vicinity around her within an area of about 50 meters looked like a massive crater had smashed into the earth and simply erased the area from existence. Her Reiatsu flared for a good 5 minutes, at almost full force she practically willed her powers forward to shatter everything around her until it was simply gone. Falling forward as her Reiatsu vanished from sight almost within an instant, Aevi fell forward and slammed into the bottom of the crater she had just made. Panting heavily as she moved her arms slowly, pushing them against the ground as she slowly forced herself to her feet.

Get up! "I won't... Give up now..." Get up! "I can't give up..." GET UP AEVI! "If I give up now... He'll never be stopped!"

It seemed... For the first time in her life, that her powers worked with her, rather than against her. Her body rose from ground, her eye glowed with a fierce white hue. Her white Reiatsu poured from around her with a fierceness and intensity that'd never before been seen come from her.

Together now, no more fighting. Together, we will become unstoppable. Nobody will stand in our way, not even 'him'. "Yeah... You're right. He must pay for her Death, and we must get revenge for our real Father." That's right Aevi, It's time to abandon his ways. Now is our time to shine, It's time for us to become better acquainted.

THE START OF THE BOND

Aevi carved out her own tunnel in the Mountain itself, the bond between her and her powers had grown enormously since she scaled the monolithic plateau. To such an extent, in fact, that she no longer needed to even fight for control of her own body anymore. It was nearest to the peak of the mountain that she resided in quiet solitude, It afforded her many things. A place for simple meditation as she mended her bond with her powers, becoming one with them as she used them to manipulate the very land around her. A place where she might be free from worry of hurting others and now, her bond had become such that she could will her powers forth at any time she now wished. Though she couldn't control them flawlessly, she had a feeling she'd never attain that level of control over them simply due to the strength that her powers possessed. However, what she knew for certain was that she could control their destructive nature now, Hone it and shape it into a tool as well as make it so no one around her would get hurt by them unless she willed it.

Since the outburst towards the bottom of the mountain, she'd been left alone and was thankful for it. She was far and beyond the scanners of Naruki city so she needn't worry of them coming to find out what was causing the massive Reiatsu disturbance, or so she hoped. She could meditate in peace as she worked to control her powers better, each day she could feel them getting stronger and more precise with her control over them and her excercises to gain control well, they weren't a simple exercise. No, they were still far too chaotic for that to be a possibility, For her, nothing but the strictest would suffice. It was daily that she caused cave-ins intentionally in order to use her powers to keep the rocks from crushing her. It was difficult, for her at first, but as was to be expected though it didn't stay that way. As she continued to train, she began to see the weaknesses she had with her control and she began to work to fix them. She began to take more control over her powers slowly but surely, focusing the destructive power and honing it towards key points in both her body and in her surroundings. Slowly she began to see an improvement, She began to see progress. The rocks began to slowly meld more with the mountain each day, each time it caved in and she pushed it back with her powers it got easier, the rocks got farther and farther with each cave-in and it wasn't easy, these days seemed to last forever. Each minute that passed felt like hours, each hour like days, Each day like years. It could be seen in her face, in her appearance that it was having a drastic effect on her body. Her hair was changing, her very body was changing and adapting to it's new enviroment.

Aevi found crystals as well during her training, They were beautiful and this mountain seemed to be full of them! So she dubbed the mountain with the name: 'The Scarlet Reflection', in honor of Scarlet. It may not seem to have any resemblance to her for others, but for her they helped remind her of why she was pushing her body to it's limits and beyond. Why she was risking her life, why she was forcing her powers to become stronger and stronger. It was for Scarlet. She'd risked life and limb for her Maitresse. She was going to prove that she'd make it... That she'd save her. And to prove it to not only herself, but to others, she carved Scarlet into the very stone around her. It was a slow process, as she recalled Scarlet's image, and began to trace in every curve and detail. Near the bed she'd made out of the bedroll and rocks she'd found and smoothed, she had several different large crystals. Among them were very large Alexandrite, Astaraline, Titanium Flame Aura Quartz, and Aurichalcite. She had to admit though, the Titanium Flame Aura Quartz was probably her favorite. It reminded her the most of Scarlet and what she represented for her, and she cherished it a visibly and notable amount more than anything else.

The Alexandrite, for her, showed her the strength of Scarlet. For no matter how much she tried, not even her powers were strong enough to crack it. The other two? They simply looked pretty. As she trained, she seemed to find that the Quartz came in larger and larger quantities as she dug deeper into the Mountain. This Mountain seemed to be filled with these, from what she'd heard these kinds of crystals were exceedingly rare. So it came as a huge surprise when she found them in such a vast quantity and so very large as well. She surmised that these must've been here for hundreds of thousands of years undisturbed to grow so large and in such a large quantity. It wasn't that she was exactly complaining... She loved the coloration and it reminded her that Scarlet was still there for her, she just had to get strong enough to bring her back. It was as simple as that. She didn't have the strength yet, so she'd train until she could shatter these Quartz. Until she could do that by simply willing it, she wouldn't stop training.

Aevi learned over the course of these days about her Mother... Well, only one thing really. It was that she died during childbirth. Something else she learned, was exactly how old she was, and that despite how 'he' seemed... 'he' had toyed with her and used her so a far greater extent that she had realized. She'd been brainwashed to believing she was only 14, when in reality she was much older. How old she didn't know and probably wouldn't ever find out, but to her it didn't matter. She was older than her 'Father' told her she was, and that alone pissed her off. But instead of letting that anger consume her she honed it, focused it in on training her powers. While she was for the most part left alone up in the Mountains, there was the occasional Hollow that appeared to try ruin her day. However it was good for her, they were usually pretty strong, all things considered, and of course there was the occassional Menos Grande that appeared to try and wreak havoc on her day... Sent by none other than her 'Father' she summerized. With each Menos Grande she defeated, she could feel herself becoming more and more powerful. Each time she got faster and faster it seemed, able to seemingly vanish from spots entirely at a very rapid pace and in truth she couldn't fully understand why. During one day, specifically her third day of training, she was attacked by a Menos Grande. This attack, she would always remember.
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Aevi swiftly shoved herself to the left as she just narrowly dodged a Menos' Cero. She was panting heavily, these attacks were coming more and more frequently and she'd only just managed to kill a Menos Grande. But now there was already another one there to kill her, Gritting her teeth as her Reiatsu surged to life around her. Watching as it charged yet another one. It seemed like things were going in slow motion as Aevi smirked, she'd fought these things so much... It was childs play at this point in terms of tactics. Aevi raised her own hand, pointing but a single finger towards the Menos.

"Fine, you wanna die so badly then taste your own Medicine."

She said to the Menos as a red ball of energy began to form at the tip of her finger, Resembling that of the Menos Grande's own Cero. In truth, she'd managed to think of this technique after that first one that engulfed her... But she didn't know exactly how it was made. It seemed, she finally understood enough about her own powers and hollows now to understand however, and as the hollows fired, She spoke.

"Graviga... Cero."

The same sound, the same energy... If it wasn't for the fact she were a human, one could mistake this for a Hollows own Cero. As the two clashed it took only a moment before her 'Cero' shoved itself through the Menos' own Cero, smashing right back through it's mask as she dropped to her knees panting heavily. She was using too much energy too fast and she needed time to rest, but these hollows were relentless.

Alas, Aevi got no time for rest as she was quickly surrounded by yet more Hollows. The more she exerted herself and fought, the more that seemed to be lured to her. At this rate she was sure to simply be engulfed by the amount of Hollow that were coming after her. Through the combined efforts of the Menos Grande that were being sent to kill her, and the other hollows who were there for who-knows-what reason, she was slowly being wittled down. But she wouldn't lose.... No, she couldn't die here and nor would she quit. Scarlet was counting on her and she wasn't going to lose. With one knee on the ground, her left palm pressed down flat. Her right arm hang over her right leg, looking up as she panted. She gritted her teeth some as she saw yet another Cero being charged... Shit, she wasn't going to be able to move fast enough to dodge and she knew it. Then it happened, the Cero fired... Her arm raised to shield her head from it... However it seemed to twist and warp around her. A thin, white hue surrounded her body. A large grin on her face as she took in a deep breath and slowly stood.

"Alright fine, I'll keep on fighting... Because if I lose then that means she dies."

Aevi raised her hand and swiped it across her face, wiping off both sweat and blood. Taking but a brief moment to steady her breath as she saw another Cero being charged, the rest of the hollows surging forward shortly after it was fired. A smirk on her face as she did a quick 360, her hand gently swiping across the ground as she raised up from it as she turned. Causing the ground underneath her to raise up and slam against the Cero as other parts of the Mountain were sent hurling towards the Hollows masks as they charged forward. But it seemed futile as she was soon swarmed by the Hollows, all of them diving on top of her. There was a small spiral of white that began to peak out of the cracks however.

"Pitiful."

A simple word, the hollows being sent flying as the white Reiatsu erupted forth from her. It seemed she still had a bit left in her reserves though it was depleting quickly. She had to end this, and now. "It's time for you to all die." She slowly raised one hand, her index finger pointing upwards. "Death awaits you." The gravity around her erupting violently in intensity as even the Menos were pulled onto the ground, the intensity only increasing more and more as the hollows screamed out and the masks began to shatter slowly one by one. As she brought her hand down, her Reiatsu lashed out violently and just as the last of the Hollow vanished, she screamed out in pain. She felt it, the loss of control. As she fell to her knees, she could feel her powers spiraling out of control... Unchained and unrestricted. Her arms grabbing her sides as she gritted her teeth and her pain-filled screams only grew louder, the ropes of Reiatsu, even the gravity itself could be visibly seen being sucked towards her. As though it were attacking Aevi herself. She was drawing it in.

"Dammit... It's too much... I can't... I can't control it... Dammit!"

She muttered to herself as she pulled and crawled her way back into her Cave slowly, using the walls to pull herself onto her feet and move to the back of the cavern. She needed rest, and because of it she intentionally closed off the entrance to the Cavern that she hid within. Aevi was in so much pain, the forces of her own Reiatsu and Powers slamming against her insides. She could feel her bones creaking and threatening to snap at any moment, but she couldn't stop them... She couldn't hold them inside much longer. That's when it snapped, all control. Just gone. The white spiral Reiatsu surged from her, shooting through the top of her cavern and tunneling right through into the sky. Making a massive hole straight above her, the loss of control causing an immeasurable amount of pain. All she could think about though, was Scarlet. Her insides, they felt like they were going to be crushed... and they were. The entire mountain was shaking around her as she released her powers once again, she couldn't take the pain. But, she couldn't let her powers just run free. She could feel the entire mountain shaking as though fearful of her powers, Aevi's eye slowly opening as she tried so hard to seal her powers.

There was no voice in her head, nothing to help her or give her advice. She reached her hand out, as though trying to grab one of the gems that she'd found. And then she saw it, the gems being crushed one by one. Except the Alexandrite. Well, for a moment anyway. That's when she saw the crack, A blast of Reiryoku coming forth from her hand and causing the Alexandrite to shatter. She had to get her powers under control. Slowly, she forced herself to stand as she gripped her head and gritted her teeth.

"No... I'm... In control... Not you..."

She said through her gritted teeth, focusing everything she had on sealing her powers. Her hands gripped her jacket tightly as they slowly began to recede. It was taking everything she had and it was barely working. But, it was working, and as her powers slowly receded she began to fall to her knees. When the Mountain finally stopped shaking, Aevi was on the ground, barely able to move. She was certain that if her powers ever got out of control again... And she was inside this cavern... She was dead.